Julie Ethical Journal Entry – February 2nd 2020

To understand if my CAS project is ethical through the lens of rule utilitarianism, I looked at it through the question: Was the decision to donate birth control to women in poverty ethical?

Utilitarianism states that one should always choose a course of action that leads to the best outcome and everyone should always make decisions based on the effect of their actions. More specifically, rule utilitarianism states that you should always follow the rules or laws, no matter what situation you are in, even if breaking the rules could potentially lead to a better outcome. They decided on this because the rules were made to lead to the best outcome and prohibit people to use their own judgment and potentially act in a certain way that doesn’t lead to the best possible outcome.

Based on the definition of rule utilitarianism, the decision to take over this project and provide these women birth control is ethical because it is not breaking any rules, as there is no rule or law against women using birth control. This project could also be considered ethical in the lens of rule utilitarianism because it also leads to the best outcome, as through this project the women who get the IUDs are not getting unwanted or unplanned pregnancies that they might not be able to afford or provide enough resources for like education, food, clothes, etc. This means that the women have more time to provide for themselves, trying to get jobs or a further education as most of these women never even finished high school.

After looking at my CAS project through an ethical lens, I am able to make better judgments throughout my everyday life, because since I have been able to see and understand what these women have gone through, I feel like I am less judgmental. I feel like I have become less judgmental because I now understand that you never really know what people could be going through or are thinking, and judging people doesn’t do anything for anyone, just brings people down.